Cyclists walk by soldiers patrolling in Concepcion, Chile, Thursday, March 4, 2010. The government deployed thousands of troops to contain looting and clear the way for aid to be distributed to survivors of the earthquake followed by a tsunami that hit Chile's central coastal region on Feb. 27. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)— AP

Cyclists walk by soldiers patrolling in Concepcion, Chile, Thursday, March 4, 2010. The government deployed thousands of troops to contain looting and clear the way for aid to be distributed to survivors of the earthquake followed by a tsunami that hit Chile's central coastal region on Feb. 27. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
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An aerial view shows a house floating near the coastal earthquake-torn town of Dichato , Chile, Thursday, March 4, 2010. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake, followed by a tsunami in the coastal areas, struck central Chile early Saturday.(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)— AP

An aerial view shows a house floating near the coastal earthquake-torn town of Dichato , Chile, Thursday, March 4, 2010. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake, followed by a tsunami in the coastal areas, struck central Chile early Saturday.(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
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People take clothing sent to them as aid at a makeshift camp for quake survivors in Dichato, Chile, Thursday, March 4, 2010. An earthquake followed by a tsunami hit Chile's coastal central region on Feb. 27. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)— AP

People take clothing sent to them as aid at a makeshift camp for quake survivors in Dichato, Chile, Thursday, March 4, 2010. An earthquake followed by a tsunami hit Chile's coastal central region on Feb. 27. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)
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DICHATO, Chile 
Chile's earthquake and tsunami smashed this pretty little tourist town into splinters, leaving immense piles of wreckage and an awful stench. Rooting through the remains Thursday, Dichato's residents said they are pinning their hopes for renewal on the new president, a conservative billionaire who takes office next week.

Nothing short of mammoth reconstruction can return Dichato to a semblance of what it was, and survivors here - and throughout the disaster zone - said they're hoping President-elect Sebastian Pinera is up to the job.

"Chile is a country on the rise, economically strong, with many businesses. And because of this we expected more" of President Michelle Bachelet's leftist administration, said Amanda Ruiz, a secretary in a construction firm. "We're disillusioned."

"I think he has the ability to do it," said Luis Omar Cid Jara, 66, whose bakery and roast chicken shop on Dichato's main street were destroyed.

Critics said Bachelet initially was reluctant to summon the military to stop looting and deliver aid, given the armed forces' brutal repression of the Chilean left in the past, especially during the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Pinera, who takes office March 11, stepped up his criticism of the outgoing president. He called Thursday for a sweeping modernization of Chile's disaster system to eliminate what he called "the lack of coordination and the weaknesses that this tragedy has uncovered with brutal eloquence."

Pinera named new governors for the six hardest-hit regions and told them to get to work even before his inauguration.

His immediate priorities: Find the missing; ensure law and order; restore utilities; and tend to the injured. Pinera said his administration will work more closely with the military on disasters than Bachelet, and he pledged to rebuild "with the most modern and efficient standards."

Bachelet, whose approval ratings were sky-high before the quake, bristled at the criticism and insisted "Chile will rise" from the devastation.

Touring an aid distribution center in the heavily damaged city of Concepcion, Bachelet denied any delays or indecision in the hours following Saturday's pre-dawn quake. Top military officers had complained they couldn't deploy troops to quash looting or deliver aid until Bachelet finally declared a state of emergency more than 24 hours after the temblor.

In the coastal town of Constitucion, firefighters were looking for bodies of people swept away by the tsunami as they camped on Isla Orrego, an island in the mouth of the Maure River that flows through the city. Constitucion suffered perhaps the greatest loss of life in the disaster, in part because many people had come for carnival celebrations and were caught in huge waves that reached the central plaza.

"There were about 200 people in tents who disappeared" on Isla Orrego, Fire Chief Miguel Reyes told The Associated Press.

An Associated Press Television News crew witnessed several bodies being recovered, including that of a baby girl washed up on the beach.

Rescue and recovery were in full swing in Dichato, where firefighters used long poles to probe for bodies in huge piles of muddy sand and beach wreckage. The navy ferried troops ashore to help unload 86 tons of food.